History of Olean Theatres

North Olean History - History of Olean Theatres

HISTORY OF OLEAN'S
THEATRE ENTERTAINMENT
At one time Olean was the metropolis of entertainment with its assortment of theaters. With the demolition of the Palace Theater in 1998, the final curtain of grandeur for Olean's movie theaters came to a close in uptown Olean.

Palace Theater----In February of 1913, Bordonaro Bros. purchased of Dr. J. E. K. Morris, his property between the Grand Theater and the Spindler block occupied by the Gem Theater on Union Street. The Morris lot measured 102 feet by 156 feet. In 1863, Seth Warren, who lived there for twelve years, built the old landmark, which was a thirteen-room house, the back part of which was a section of the old first Baptist church edifice. Dr. D. H. Bartlett was the next to purchase the property, and after living there ten years sold it to Dr. Morris in 1883.

It wasn't until 1916 that one of the best-known old landmarks on Union Street was torn down to make way for the excavation of a new building. As of yet there were only rumors that a theater might be built on the site. Finally in February of that year plans for the erection of a $100,000 theater were announced with the excavation to be started that month. The earth from the excavation was hauled to the bank of the Olean Creek at the rear of the Armour storage house on Union Street. (This was to fill in land for the proposed flood abatement work.)

The Palace Theater opened on February 19, 1917 at 8 o'clock with 5 Premier Vaudeville performances, 8 reels of Photo Plays, the Palace Theatre Orchestra under the direction of Charles Edel. The price for Orchestra and Balcony seats was $1.00 and the Gallery was 50c.

The building on the south side of the Palace Theater was the Gem Theater established by C. T. Nickum in 1912. The Gem later became the location of Langs Hardware Store, now the Bradner Gallery. The Grand Theater was adjacent to the Palace on the north. In 1919, the Bordonaro Brothers now owned the old Grand Theater building that was remodeled into two stores. In 1937, Billy Welch's Cafe located in the right side of the building.
In July of 1998, after much debate pro and con by the City of Olean and its citizens the decision was made to demolish the Palace Theater along with several other buildings, including the old Grand Theater building to make way for Eckards Drug Store.

Blake Opera House----The Blake Opera House that was located on Union Street was built by Dr. A. Blake in 1874. It was a three-story brick building with a four-story front. The third floor that once housed Olean's popular opera house had been condemned as unsafe for that purpose about 1881 and was then used by Andrews and Conkling for storing their surplus stock. The first floor was occupied by Blake & Wilkinson's hardware store and Andrews & Conkling furniture store. On November 22, 1892, the old Blake Opera House was destroyed by fire. The site later became the home of A. E. Ewing Co. and lastly W. T. Grants. Both buildings were demolished for Urban Renewal.

Olean Opera House----built on State Street in 1881 was the center of theatrical activity in 1895 after much renovation. Although the walls had been newly papered and new scenery was either retouched or replaced on the stage, the introduction of electric lights throughout the house was the greatest improvement. The Opera House occupied the second floor of the building. The Whitney Opera presented The Fencing Master in January 1894 and in February 1904, the Military Opera, When Johnny Comes Marching Home, was a hit.

In 1907, J. H. Havens, manager of the Olean Opera House announced that another theatorium would open there. The Opera House would be known as the Casino with the admission of five cents.

The Haven Theater opened on the ground floor of this same building in January of 1913. In June of 1917, Charles T. Nickum took over the Havens Theater upon the retirement of Fred C. Bitner. Nickum had closed his Gem Theater because of lack of room to seat his patrons. There would be no more vaudeville bookings, only motion picture programs and perhaps stock companies and one-night bookings. In April of 1918, Jack Ball Stock Company (Olean's Own Co.) was booked for three days, in THE MARRIAGE QUESTION.

The Havens Theater held a name contest in 1920 that was entered by Miss Julia Soroson, who won the one hundred dollar prize. The name was now to be known as the Haven Theater, dropping the 's'.

In October of 1924, Johnny Fitzgerald was engaged as organist at the Haven Theater. The Haven Theater was demolished to build the First National Bank drive through, which was later torn down for the new U.S. Post Office building. .

The State Theater----Excavation for Charles T. Nickum's new theater to be built on the lot at the corner of First and State Streets was started in September of 1920. E. F. Brickell prepared the plans and the construction was in the hands of the B.U. Taylor Co. It was three stories high and was named, Nickum's 'New Gem', which was opened in December of that year. This theater was later known as the State Theater, which was popular with all the youngsters who loved the Western films shown there. The theater was demolished in July of 1970.

Some other theaters were The Star Theater that opened in the old Exchange Bank building in February of 1907. Langs 'Dreamland' on W. State Street. The Strand on W. State closed in 1922 and was remodeled into a business place.

Mr. C. J. Lang, who came to Olean in 1907, had been in the manufacturing business for 20 years and was indirectly interested in the motion picture industry in Germany before In 1909, C. J. Lang built a moving picture factory on Whitney Ave. It was a brick two-story building, 60 by 25 feet. He manufactured moving pictures, the Lang flickerless attachments and all of Lang inventions with up to date equipment. Then in 1922, the state issued a charter to the Lang Manufacturing works to make motion picture machines. Mr. Lang had a number of patents on improvements to the motion picture machine and patents pending on others. His products were in use throughout the United States. During World War I, the U.S. government purchased thousand of his reels upon which the films were wound and were stored in the government vaults in Washington.

Elias and Henry Eade made improvements to the Casino de Paris in March of 1933. Not only were motion pictures shown, but there was also space for dancing with a popular orchestra providing the music. This was the forerunner of the Olean Theater that was demolished to make way for new businesses in that section of Union Street.

The Olean Center Mall had several movie theaters located there when it first opened, but alas they were also closed and relocated in the Town of Allegany.

No longer can one take a walk uptown to the movies in Olean. Long gone are the days of the10 cent movies and 5 cents for a big bag of candy as when we were kids. The excitement of watching the huge stage curtains open up as the house lights dimmed while we sat transfixed to the large screen to watch our favorite cowboy outride and outshoot the bad guys is lost forever.

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By: Eileen McCartan Smith, Olean, NY All rights reserved.

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